Wildcraft invests Rs 80 crore to open greenfield warehouse spreading across 3.5 lakh sq ft

Wildcraft, a homegrown adventure and outdoor products brand has invested Rs 80 crore to open a warehouse at Sira, Karnataka spreading across a 3.5 lakh sq.ft area, Gaurav Dublish, co-founder, Wildcraft.

Over the next 18-36 months, the brand plans to further invest Rs 40 crore in expanding its production capacity next to this warehouse unit.

"The investment for the greenfield warehouse was funded by internal accruals and debt lines available to us. By July, we will consolidate all 4 of our existing warehouses spreading across 1.5 lakh - 2 lakh sq.ft and we will be shifting to the new warehouse which covers an area of 3 lakh - 3.5 lakh sq.ft," he said.

"Post stabilization, we will commence the 2nd phase of the green field project. Once stable, the project will give employment to around 5,000 people. It will further set us up for the next 5-10 years," he added.

At present, the production capacity of the brand stands at 5 million units and it is running at full capacity.

"We are anticipating the demand to go up to 10 million units in the next 2-3 years," he explained.

The brand boasts of its own R&D lab and production unit which it set up in 2008. At present, 75 per cent of what it sells is produced at its manufacturing unit, 20 per cent is sourced from India and the remaining 5 per cent is imported.

Currently, the brand offers 1,300 products across 3 lines - clothing, footwear, and accessories.

"At present, 50-60 percent of the revenue comes from accessories, 30 percent from clothing, and the remaining is contributed by footwear," he asserted.

"Till 2018, 70-75 per cent of our revenue was contributed by accessories," he added.

The brand, which operates 220 stores, is planning to open 50 more stores this fiscal.

"At present, we operate 160 company-owned company-operated stores and 60 franchise stores. Last fiscal, we opened 40 stores and this fiscal we plan to invest Rs 25 crore to further enhance our offline retail presence," he said.


"Out of the 50 stores that we are planning to open this fiscal, 35 will be run by us, and the remaining 15 by franchise partners," he further added.

The brand eyes to have 350 stores by 2026.

At present, the brand has 1/3rd of its stores in malls and the remaining 2/3rd in high streets.

"Our exclusive retail contributes to 25 per cent of the revenue of the brand, online contribution stands at 20 per cent and the remaining 50 per cent is contributed by distribution," he stated.

The brand has a presence at 7,500 points of sales across 600 cities and has 140 distributors.

When asked about the revenue growth of the brand, he said, "As we are a privately held brand, we do not disclose revenue numbers. However, from the past 10-11 years, the brand has been growing at 25 per cent CAGR with positive EBITDA," he concluded.